A British Royal Air Force Hercules transport aircraft has arrived in Luqa to be on hand for the evacuation of British nationals from Libya amid growing criticism of UK government efforts to get Britons out.
Prime Minister David Cameron insisted today that his government was doing everything it could.
He said officials were working around the clock to facilitate the evacuation.
At a press conference in Qatar Mr Cameron said: "There will be planes and ferries and other means to get people out of Libya and we will do everything we can to make that happen.
"Obviously it is a very difficult situation.
"I don't want to give details of the exact plane arrival times or what ships and when, but we are doing everything we can to make sure we get people out and there are all sorts of different means that we can use to make sure that happens."
The Foreign Office has also chartered a commercial flight and the Royal Navy frigate HMS Cumberland is being redeployed to waters near Libya.
But a UK oil worker hoping to fly home criticised the response this morning, saying he and colleagues had been left without protection.
James Coyle, who is based between the capital Tripoli and second city Benghazi, said: "We are living a nightmare and we have asked the British Government and they have just totally ignored us.
"They don't reply to emails, they have cut off the phones to Tripoli. We told them the situation three days ago - they never even replied to us.
"We have been left without any protection whatsoever."
He added: "We are living every day in fear of our lives as the local people are armed with AK45s and AK47s."
Shadow foreign secretary Douglas Alexander said the Government seemed to have been "slow off the mark" in responding to the turmoil in Libya.
"I welcome the deployment of HMS Cumberland and the sending of a charter plane to Libya to help British nationals there," he said.
"But it is concerning that it is only getting under way now, as reports suggest some airports are already badly damaged and there have been air space closures.
"William Hague should explain why the Government appears to have been slow off the mark when other countries have already repatriated a large number of their citizens."
The flight chartered by the Foreign Office is due to leave Gatwick this afternoon.
It will be a Boeing 757 with capacity for 200 passengers. The Foreign Office is in contact with about 300 Britons in the Tripoli area.